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Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Lucky Charm

At the heart of much speculative fiction
(and fiction in general) is a question.
What if? On Tuesdays I like to throw one out
there and see what you make of it. Do with it
as you please. If a for-instance is not specified,
feel free to interpret that instance as you
wish. And if you find this becomes
a novel-length answer, I'd appreciate a
thank you in the acknowledgements. 😉

With a local team going to the World Series, my mind turned to all those little rituals people believe bring their favorite teams luck. You know, like wearing your lucky shirt during a game or needing to spin around three times before a pitch or something. Perhaps you have one?

We all know, in our rational brains, that these rituals don't actually help the team. But...

What if that little ritual you do actually does help your team win games? What if the team found out about it (like, right before a championship tournament)?

That would be a bummer because I would have to go and watch sports...Yawn. I am thinking of that Frasier episode where Niles becomes the good luck charm for the sports guy who must rub Niles's head before each game...it was quite funny

What...like a SPELL? haha....well then if they found out it would be up to them to decide if I continue with doing it...or pull out another spell to make them forget what they learned....I put a spell on you (from Hocus Pocus)

Back in the nineties I actually got into baseball when the Cleveland Indians were playing well. My bosses in the Cincinnati area were from around Cleveland like me and my then boyfriend (now spouse). They had season tickets and would surprise me with a pair now and again. In a flurry of excitement I would arrange with my coworkers to get out of the office early as possible, work like a maniac, race home, pack a bag, don my fan gear, and drive us like crazy across the state. Our silly ritual involved rubbing an image of the (then) mascot, Chief Wahoo, before every pitch. Fun times!

If the team found out, it seems like that might be bad. I mean maybe if they kept it under wraps? But what if the other team found out? Wouldn't that be cheating? Or … how does it work if there is a lucky charm for both teams? Do they cancel one another out? Is one lucky charm luckier than the other?